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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27166016">always</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunsenBerner1/pseuds/bunsenBerner1'>bunsenBerner1</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abusive Parents, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Dating, Death, Emotional, Enemies to Friends, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, High School, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Slow Burn, Smut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:47:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,897</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27166016</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunsenBerner1/pseuds/bunsenBerner1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Catra and Adora used to be friends when they were kids. After Adora's mother, Mara, passed away, so did their friendship. That is until Horde Academy is shut down and Catra is forced to go to the only other high school in their small city: Bright Moon High School, where Adora attends. It is Catra's full intention to avoid her as much as possible. But she quickly comes to find out how hard that truly is.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Angella/Micah (She-Ra), Bow &amp; Mermista &amp; Sea Hawk (She-Ra), Hordak/Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>57</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. August 2020 pt. 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi everyone! This is my first attempt at writing fan fiction so please bare with me! </p><p>I watched She-Ra for the first time and it instantly became one of my favorites. When I finished, I was sad that they were no longer making anymore seasons. And that's when I decided to write my own story! The characters all look the same with the exception of Hordak (Craig). Shadow Weaver (Susan) looks more like Light Spinner but is more human looking. And no, Angella does not have wings in this universe! I only have the first chapter written and will do my best to upload a chapter every 2 weeks or so. Let me know what you think! I would love your feedback! I hope you enjoy! </p><p>All spelling, grammar, and format mistakes are my own.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>It was a bright, beautiful day. Adora lies in the middle of a wildflower field, looking up at the sky and watching the clouds go past. She stands up and stretches her arms up high and then re adjusts her plain white dress. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She looks down and realizes she has no shoes on. She pushes the thought away and begins walking in the field, lightly grazing the flowers as she moves along. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>She sees someone in the distance ahead of her. She stops and brings her hand to block the sun from her eyes. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Hello? Who’s there?” Adora asks. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>No response. She walks over cautiously to the figure. As she gets closer, she can see that it is a woman with her long brown hair blowing in the wind. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Adora clears her throat. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Who are you? What are you doing here?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Nothing. Adora is standing right behind her now. She taps the mystery woman on the shoulder and she turns to face Adora. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Adora gasps and tears well up in her eyes. She immediately embraces the woman in a warm hug and she returns the gesture. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I miss you so much,” the woman whispers in her ear. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Adora couldn’t believe it. She broke the hug and then suddenly, everything around her changed. The sky turned a dark red orange and the wild flower field was nothing but a field of dead twigs. The clouds started turning black as lightning strikes between Adora and the mystery woman, causing a fire. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Adora covers her face to protect it from the thick smoke. She looks over to the mystery woman and she appears inches from her face. But she is not the same. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her whole body is charred and burnt. Her hair ceases to exist. She grabs Adora’s hands. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Help me…” she says.</em>
</p><p>Adora shoots up from her bed in a sweat and hyperventilating. She looks around and realizes it was another nightmare. She’s safe, and in her room. She lays back down on her bed and brings her hands up to her forehead. She then grabs her phone to look at the time.</p><p>3:06 AM. She has another 3 hours of sleep before she has to wake up. She puts her phone down, clutching her stuffed cat named Melog, and rolls onto her left side. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. She couldn’t be tired for her first day of her senior year.</p><p>...</p><p>Adora wakes up to the sound of her alarm. She picks up her phone and shuts the alarm off.</p><p>The door swings open and Glimmer jumps onto Adora’s bed.</p><p>“Rise and shine! Today is the day!” Glimmer says as she shakes Adora.</p><p>“So much for knocking,” Adora shoots back in a grumbly voice, her head underneath her pillow.</p><p>Adora peeks her head out, revealing some dark circles under her eyes. Glimmer’s smile quickly goes away and she sits up on the bed.</p><p>“Why didn’t you come get me?” Glimmer asks with worry in her voice.</p><p>Adora shrugs. “It wasn’t that bad this time, I was able to get back to sleep, eventually.”</p><p>Glimmer sighs. “It’s okay to that you’re not over it. Losing your mother is something that will take the rest of your life to get used to, especially on days like today.”</p><p>“I know…I just miss her is all,” Adora says as her eyes tear up. Glimmer reaches for her hand.</p><p>“Me too.”</p><p>The two best friends exchange a sweet but brief glance.</p><p>“Thank you,” says Adora. Glimmer gives her a wink back with a small grin.</p><p>“You’re welcome! Now, let’s get ready! We can’t be late today!”</p><p>Glimmer stands up and walks out the door promptly. Adora sits up and swings her legs to the side of her bed. She looks over to a picture frame. It’s Adora when she was a baby, and her mother is holding her in her arms and smiling</p><p>“I miss you mom,” she says quietly to herself.</p><p>She proceeds to stand up and get ready for the day.</p><p>...</p><p>Adora walks down stairs with her backpack and fresh clothes for the day. She has her hair up in a ponytail with her signature “bump,” a pair of black glasses, blue skinny jeans, a black and red flannel with a Bright Moon High School Softball t-shirt underneath and a pair of white vans</p><p>She was excited, but she missed her mom so much. She would do anything to have her back. But after her death five years ago, she was happy that Glimmer and her parents took her in. Micah and Angella were not her biological parents, but they treated her like own.</p><p>Micah and Adora’s mom, Mara, worked together as fire fighters. That’s how Adora and Glimmer met and became friends. They met when they were in pre-school but when it was time to attend kindergarten, they went to different schools. They remained friends through their parents and then Glimmer was transferred to Adora’s middle school. It was around this time when Mara died in a tragic fire accident. Ever since then, the girls became best friends.</p><p>Adora enters the kitchen where Angella and Micah are busy making breakfast while Glimmer sits at the kitchen table, already eating.</p><p>“Good morning, dear! How would you like your eggs?” Angella asks behind the stove.</p><p>“Scrambled please,” Adora says with a small smile.</p><p>“Hey kiddo! You ready for your first day of senior year?” Micah asks while getting the milk out of the fridge.</p><p>“Oh yeah, totally. I just… wish mom was here…”</p><p>Angella and Micah give each other a small look of understanding. They look back at Adora.</p><p>“Us too. It’s okay to miss her and be sad. We are here for you if you want to talk about it, okay?” Micah says as he walks over to her and embraces her in a hug. Adora melted into the hug. She knew Micah was also struggling with losing Mara. They were best friends. He would understand what she was going through better than anyone.</p><p>The hug lasted several seconds before they broke away.</p><p>“Thank you,” Adora said as she cracked a small grin and tears in her eyes.</p><p>Micah nodded and smiled back. Adora went over to the table with Glimmer as she waited for her breakfast. Glimmer put her hand on Adora’s and exchanged a small glance.</p><p>Adora knew she was surrounded by a loving family. And she felt relieved for the first time in a while.</p><p>...</p><p>Ever since Glimmer and Adora started high school, they drive to school together. On the way there, they pick up their other best friend, Bow. It was a relatively short drive since he lives right next door.</p><p>Bow and his family moved to Etheria when he was in middle school. He was new to the city and didn’t have many friends until he met Adora and Glimmer. The trio became instant friends and spent as much time as they could together. They even gave themselves a title: The Best Friends Squad. They are a very tight friend group and would do anything for each other.</p><p>Adora and Glimmer pull up to Bow’s house. A few seconds later, Bow comes out of his house with his dads right behind him. He has an annoyed look on his face as he comes up to the car on Adora’s side. She rolls down the window.</p><p>“My dads want to take pictures of us for our first day of school,” Bow says in an annoyed, monotone voice.</p><p>Adora and Glimmer light up.</p><p>“Of course, we will!” The girls say at the same time. They rush out of the car and into the front lawn. Bow lets out a big groan.</p><p>“I can’t believe you both are encouraging this! We’re seniors, not 1<sup>st</sup> graders,” Bow says as he crosses his arms.</p><p>“Oh, quit your whining! This is our last first day photo we’ll ever take! Now get in here!!” Glimmer demands as Bow makes his way in between the girls.</p><p>“Fair point I guess. Let’s get this over with,” Bow says.</p><p>“Oh, you guys look so adorable! I cannot believe my baby boy is a senior already!” Lance says as he takes multiple pictures on his phone.</p><p>“Lance don’t embarrass the boy!” George says at first. “…but you’re right though. He’s all grown up!” He says again as he too takes out his phone and takes more pictures.</p><p>“Okay that’s enough. We’re going now!” Bow says quickly as he pushes Glimmer and Adora towards the car.</p><p>“Bye George and Lance! Send us those pictures!” Glimmer says as the trio rushes to the car.</p><p>“Bye kids! We love you!” George and Lance say, waving bye to the kids.</p><p>“Love you too!” They all say and wave back as the trio sets off to start their senior year.</p><p>...</p><p>Glimmer, Adora and Bow are waiting in the drive thru line at their favorite coffee shop, eagerly awaiting their caffeinated drinks.</p><p>“I’m so excited to see everyone! It has been so long!” Glimmer says behind the wheel of her car. “What do you think school is going to be like now, since Horde Academy shut down?”</p><p>“I think it will be great! More people means more friends to make!” Bow says cheerfully from the back of the car.</p><p>Adora shifts in her seat and crosses her arms and lets out a sigh.</p><p>“Are you nervous to see her?” Glimmer asks.</p><p>Adora looks over to Glimmer, unsure how to answer. At this point, it is their turn at the drive thru window.</p><p>“There they are! Our most loyal customers!” A cheery voice says at the checkout window as she hands them three to go coffee cups.</p><p>“Hi Scorpia! Thank you so much, you’re our favorite barista!” Glimmer says as she takes each cup and hands them to Adora and Bow.</p><p>“That is so sweet! You guys are the best. Good luck on your first day of school!”</p><p>“Thank you!” The trio says together as Glimmer drives off.</p><p>“So? Are you nervous?” Bow asks Adora.</p><p>Adora takes a sip of her warm coffee and looks out the window.</p><p>“I…I’m not sure. I haven’t seen her since my mom died,” Adora says in a somber tone. “She probably will try to avoid me at all costs”</p><p>Adora knew that would be impossible. Catra hasn’t spoken to or seen Adora in years. They used to be best friends in pre-school and in middle school. But when Glimmer and Bow started coming around, Catra started ignoring and ghosting Adora. The last time she saw Catra was the day of her mother’s funeral. After that, they were no longer friends. They would see each other on occasion in public but never bothered to talk to each other.</p><p>Adora thinks about Catra all the time. She truly misses her. She was her only friend growing up and was there for her all the time. After her mom died, Catra was gone and that really hurt. She needed her best friend. She couldn’t fully understand why Catra had cut her off. But that didn’t stop her from missing Catra. She would never admit that to anyone, however. To be honest, she wouldn’t mind being friends again but that was out of the question.</p><p>“Well, we got your back no matter what. The Best Friends Squad is stronger than ever and we are going to kill it this year!” Glimmer exclaims.</p><p>“Yes! We got this!” Bow agrees in excitement.</p><p>Adora laughs and smiles. “Thanks, you guys. I appreciate it.”</p><p>The trio pulls into the parking lot and gets out of the car. They walk up to the school together, not knowing what this year will bring.</p><p>...</p><p>Catra wakes up to the sound of her alarm. She begrudgingly picks up her phone and shuts it off before throwing it on the floor. She rolls over in bed and stares at the ceiling with a look of annoyance.</p><p>After a few moments, she lets out a sigh and sits up and swings her feet over to the side of her bed. She stretches her arms way up high and then her back. After a few moments, there’s a knock at the door and the door handle jiggles.</p><p>“Catra, open up. You know this door is not meant to be locked,” a man’s voice sounds from behind the door.</p><p>Catra rolls her eyes and goes to the door and opens it.</p><p>“Not locked anymore, happy?” She asks sarcastically while turning around to get ready.</p><p>“Drop the attitude. It’s time to get ready for your first day at Bright Moon. You cannot be late for your first day, especially at a new school. Now hop to it,” the man says in a strict voice.</p><p>Once he leaves, Catra goes to shut the door. “Yeah, like you actually care,” she mumbles to herself.</p><p>She absolutely hated her father, Craig. He wasn’t her real father, though. Catra was abandoned by her real parents and was adopted by Craig and Susan Weaver when she was a baby. They couldn’t have a child of their own so they decided to adopt.</p><p>Craig was anything but a good father. He was always too busy running his super successful tech company, Prime Technologies. They were the richest family in Etheria as a matter of fact. He would constantly put Catra down, physically and emotionally. He would also take his anger out on his wife, Susan. To be honest, she was not a fan of Susan either. Or as Catra likes to call her “The Enabler.” She avoided being at home as much as possible.</p><p>She couldn’t hate Susan too much. She wants to be a good mother for Catra but Craig is constantly getting in the way. It got so bad one time that it left Susan with a big scar on her face from one of Craig’s beatings. Shamed by the event, she always wears a face covering of some kind as to not draw attention to her scars.</p><p>Catra proceeds to get ready for the day. She walks to her closet and goes through everything she has. She pulls everything out and is getting frustrated that she can’t find anything. She kicks the door slightly, causing something to fall with a loud thud.</p><p>Catra lets out a sigh and goes to see what fell. When she gets to the closet, she realizes that it’s a box labeled “Adora.” She stares at the box for a moment and then takes a peek inside.</p><p>It’s mostly stuff Adora had given Catra over their years of friendship. Some stuffed animals, pictures, movie stubs, and jewelry. There is one picture in particular that gets her attention.</p><p>She picks up the picture frame and turns it over. Her pointy ears droop and a sadness washes over Catra. It’s a picture of Adora and Catra at a piano, sitting in between them is Mara. They all were in the middle of laughing and all had huge smiles. Catra was holding a 1<sup>st</sup> place trophy.</p><p>Catra’s eyes fill up with tears but she quickly wipes them away. She puts the picture back in the box and then quickly shoves the box back in the closet.</p><p>She stands up and rubs her eyes. She then continues to get ready.</p><p>...</p><p>Catra walks downstairs with her hair down. She is wearing one of her many white band t-shirts with a black leather jacket on top, ripped skinny jeans and red high-top converse. She grabs her back pack, keys and a matte black biker’s helmet.</p><p>“I’m going to school!” Catra shouts as she walks out the front door. She walks to the driveway and mounts an electric blue sports bike.  She puts her helmet on and turns on the bike and makes her way to school to start her senior year.</p><p>...</p><p>Catra and Entrapta decided to meet up with Scorpia before they head to their new school. Scorpia was a couple years older than the other two so she has already graduated from Horde Academy. That is where they all met in fact. When Catra and Entrapta were freshmen, Scorpia was a junior. They all ended up in the same class: Food Preparation. They all had to take electives and they ended up hitting off as a trio. Catra was never really seeking out friends. Ever since her and Adora stopped talking, she had always been a loner. Mostly kept to herself. Scorpia and Entrapta just kept showing up and included her in conversations. She wasn’t happy about it at first but she has come to care about the both of them. She would never admit that to anyone though.</p><p>Catra arrives at the local coffee shop, where Scorpia works. They were all going to meet before her shift. Catra had picked up Entrapta on the way and Scorpia was already inside with their hot beverages.</p><p>“Hey Wildcat! Hey Entrapta” Scorpia exclaims. “I saved you both a seat! I also got your favorite coffee!” she says with a gleam in her eyes.</p><p>Catra and Entrapta both take a seat and grab their coffees. “Thanks,” Catra says with a smile as she takes a sip while Entrapta says nothing but has a huge smile on her face.</p><p>“So, are you two ready to start your senior year?” Scorpia asks the two younger girls.</p><p>“Yes, I am! Bright Moon has a prestigious tech club with state-of-the-art equipment and I cannot wait to get my hands on them!” Entrapta says with a boast of excitement.</p><p>“Pfft of course you are, nerd. I’m just happy to be away from all those losers at Horde. They all hated me anyways,” Catra says nonchalantly. “It’s whatever.” She takes another sip of coffee.</p><p>“Are you nervous about Adora?” Scorpia asks with concern. Entrapta and Scorpia both look at Catra waiting for an answer.</p><p>She crosses her arms and her ears droop. She looks down at her coffee, avoiding eye contact with both of her friends.</p><p>“No, why would I be? It doesn’t even matter. We’re not friends anymore and it’s going to stay that way. Now, can we drop this?” She says in a stern and annoyed voice.</p><p>“Okay fine. All I’m going to say is that you can’t avoid her forever. You go to the same school now and it will be hard to shut her out,” Scorpia says with a concerned look on her face.</p><p>Catra says nothing, and doesn’t even look at Scorpia. She hates to admit it but Scorpia was right. She will not be able to avoid Adora for a whole year while they are in the same building every day. She wasn’t sure how to feel about it honestly. She felt abandoned by Adora when she made new friends. And she knows how childish that is. But at the same time, she couldn’t help it. Adora was her best friend. The one person she could confide in and trust. The one person who made her feel safe and loved. The one person who she thought would never hurt her. It killed her to shut her out and it was the hardest thing she has ever done.</p><p>“Well I have to start my shift now,” Scorpia says as she stands up. “Good luck you two! Let me know how it goes! I can’t wait to hear all about it,” she says walking away.</p><p>The younger two wave bye and sit there for a while finishing their coffees and chatting before they have to leave. After a while, Catra looks over to Scorpia who is working at the drive thru.</p><p>“There they are! Our most loyal customers!” Scorpia says in a cheery voice.</p><p>Catra knew who she was talking about. Her ears went droopy and her eyes went wide. Her heart started racing and rage took over her.</p><p>“We’re leaving,” Catra states as she quickly gets up.</p><p>Entrapta shrugs and proceeds to gather her belongings and follow Catra to her bike. They put their helmets on and get on the bike. The duo heads to Bright Moon High School, awaiting their future at a new school where anything is bound to happen.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And that concludes Chapter 1! I am so excited to share the rest of the story with you all! Thanks again for reading and I'll post the second chapter soon! :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. August pt. 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The first day of senior year. What could go wrong?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Best Friends Squad walks up the steps of Bright Moon High School with many other students. They walk in and are all directed to the gym for an assembly. <br/>
 <br/>
Adora sees all kinds of students. Some she knows, some that she doesn’t and some that she considers friends. She assumes that most of the new faces she sees are from Horde Academy because they all looked lost. </p>
<p>Everyone enters the gym and is seated on both sides of the bleachers. The room is loud as it fills with conversations. In the middle of the gymnasium, there is a podium with a microphone on it and two women. The same two women who practically run this school. The principal, Miss Netossa, and the guidance counselor, Miss Spinnerella. They have both been working here for about 5 years, about as long as they’ve been married. All the students loved them both so much and are well respected by all. </p>
<p>Miss Netossa steps up to the podium. “Good morning students. Let’s quiet down now!” she says into the microphone.</p>
<p>The gym slowly quiets down and the students pull their attention to their principal.</p>
<p>“Thank you. Welcome back to a new year at Bright Moon! We are so happy to be back. As you know, we have recently gained some new students. The closing of Horde Academy was unexpected but we are happy to welcome their students. Welcome, everyone…” Miss Netossa pauses, then everyone in the gym claps and cheers for a brief moment.</p>
<p>“With that being said, I want the students from last year to step up. We have a lot of new students who do not know this school like you do. It will be up to you to show them around and get them acquainted. Which brings us to something new we are trying this year: a buddy system!” Students gasp with excitement and start chatting amongst themselves. </p>
<p>“Settle down everyone! Before you get too excited, we have already assigned everyone their own buddy. Now, how this will work is each student from Horde Academy will be paired with a student from Bright Moon. You and your buddy will be in the same homeroom class. So double check your schedules and you will all head to homeroom after this morning’s assembly. Your teachers will have a list of your specific buddies when you arrive,” Miss Netossa pauses for a brief moment.</p>
<p>“This is so exciting! We each get our own personal friend!” Bow says quietly to Glimmer and Adora.</p>
<p>“Y-yeah, I guess we do,” Adora says with a fake chuckle and fake smile. She looks to Glimmer who looks just as excited as Bow. </p>
<p>Adora looks down at her hands and starts bouncing her leg. She couldn’t explain why she was so anxious. What if she was paired with Catra? What are the chances of that happening? She shakes the thought away and tells herself there is no way she would get paired with her. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath in. She focuses back on Miss Netossa.</p>
<p>“That concludes this morning’s assembly! Have a great first day everyone and go Rebels!” Miss Netossa says in a cheery voice. Then the first bell rings, signaling that they had to start making their way to class. </p>
<p>All the students begin talking again and make their way towards the exits.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>The Best Friends Squad were fortunate enough to be in the same homeroom class. Unfortunately, it was the only class they had together. They each go to their lockers and decided to meet each other in homeroom.</p>
<p>Adora walks into homeroom and sees Bow and Glimmer talking to each other at their seats. Adora walks over to them and sits behind the pair.</p>
<p>“Do you see anyone you know from Horde Academy?” Bow asks Adora.</p>
<p>Adora looks around the room and happens to see one familiar face. They were not good friends but they are one of the most popular people in Etheria. Everyone loved them.</p>
<p>“So far I only see Double Trouble. But that’s about it,” Adora says. </p>
<p>“I can’t wait to find out who my new buddy is!” Glimmer says with excitement. “I hope they like it here at Bright Moon!”</p>
<p>“Me too! The Best Friends Squad will continue to grow and we’ll all have so many friends!” Bow adds.</p>
<p>Adora smiles and nods her head. Bow and Glimmer continue talking about how excited they are to find out who their buddies are. But Adora’s mind is elsewhere. She can’t help but think about Catra. How bad they left things, how close they used to be, how much fun they used to have, and how much it hurt when Catra stopped talking to her. </p>
<p>Adora knew how her mother’s death must have affected Catra as well. They were all close and Mara treated her like her own daughter. Mara knew about Catra’s home life and did what she could to give her a safe space. Adora just wishes she understood why Catra cut her off. She missed her best friend and she didn’t know if they would get a chance to reconcile.</p>
<p>Adora started to notice the room was becoming crowded. Some were Horde Academy students and the rest were mostly friends.</p>
<p>Mermista and Sea Hawk walk in with his arm wrapped around her shoulder. They had been dating for a couple years now. No one knew how they got together given how opposite they are. But they are a wonderful couple none the less. </p>
<p>Bow takes notice of the couple’s entrance. He blushes and scratches the back of his neck. Adora and Glimmer see Bow’s expression and look at what is distracting him. </p>
<p>“Could you be anymore obvious?” Glimmer asks bow sarcastically.</p>
<p>“What are you talking about?” Bow says while crossing his arms.</p>
<p>“Oh, come on! You are so crushing on the school’s number one couple!” Adora throws in.</p>
<p>“Am not!” Bow says with a frown on his face.</p>
<p>“Mermista! Sea Hawk! Come sit over here, we have some available seats!” Glimmer shouts as she stands up with excitement.</p>
<p>Bow puts his hands on his face. “What are you doing?!” He whispers to Glimmer angrily. </p>
<p>Mermista and Sea Hawk smile over the trio and walk over to them. They take their seats behind Bow.</p>
<p>“Thank you so much President Glimmer! It is most appreciated,” Sea Hawk says with a big smile.</p>
<p>“Yeah thanks. It’s cool I guess,” Mermista says in her monotone voice.</p>
<p>“You’re welcome!” Glimmer says. She looks at Bow and winks. “You’re welcome too,” she whispers.</p>
<p>“I can’t believe you did this,” Bow says as he puts his head in his hands.</p>
<p>This is the first year that Glimmer was elected to be student body president. She has always had a calling for being a leader and this was the year to prove herself. And she couldn’t wait. Bow and Adora were not a part of the student body. Bow is president of the tech club and Adora is captain of the softball team. Each of them had such different interests but always supported one another in their various activities. </p>
<p>Adora and Glimmer laughed as Bow pouted. The second bell finally rings and it signals the start of the day. Their teacher, Mrs. Rogers, walks into the room. The students face the front and begin to quiet down. </p>
<p>“Good morning students! Welcome to homeroom. As most of you know, I am Mrs. Rogers! Now, we have a few things to go over today,” Mrs. Rogers begins. Just as she’s about to speak again, Catra enters the room quietly and takes a seat in the first row, not taking any note as to who is the room.</p>
<p>“You must be from Horde Academy. No worries! I know this is your first day and are still figuring out the school,” Mrs. Rogers says to Catra. </p>
<p>Catra gives her a small nod and a smile.</p>
<p>Adora’s heart drops in her stomach. What are the chances that they are in the same homeroom? Catra hasn’t even noticed her yet. She slumps in her seat and looks to Glimmer and Bow, who are already looking at her.</p>
<p>“Why me?!” she mouths quietly to them. They say nothing as they are too shocked to speak.</p>
<p>Mrs. Rogers begins to speak again.</p>
<p>“First we are going to assign your buddies. I will bring up the list and when I call your name, I want the students from Bright Moon to stand up.” She brings up the list and starts calling out names.</p>
<p>“Adora…”</p>
<p>Adora stands up slowly. Catra’s ears perk up and her eyes widen. She turns around quickly. They make eye contact for a brief moment before Catra breaks away. Adora gives a small wave but Catra was already turned away. Catra slouches down far into her desk and crosses her arms.</p>
<p>“You will be partnerd with Double Trouble,” Mrs. Rogers continues.</p>
<p>Adora looks over to her new buddy and gives a small smile and a wave. They return the gesture and Adora quickly sits back down. Mrs. Rogers continues to read off the names of other students.</p>
<p>“At least she’s not your buddy?” Glimmer suggests as she looks over to Adora. She says nothing in return. She slumps down in her chair.</p>
<p>“Glimmer…” Mrs. Rogers says. She stands up.</p>
<p>“Your buddy is Catra,” she says as Glimmer’s smile turns into a face of surprise. </p>
<p>Catra once again turns around and looks at Glimmer. They share a glance before Glimmer sits down and Catra looks back up at the front. </p>
<p>“Great,” Catra mumbles under her breath.</p>
<p>“Bow, you will be with Entrapta,” Mrs. Rogers says.</p>
<p>Bow stands up and gives a big wave and smile to his new buddy. Mrs. Rogers continues with the list once again.</p>
<p>Adora looks up to the front at Catra. She couldn’t believe how much she has changed. She looked so mature and beautiful. Adora couldn’t explain exactly what she was feeling but she couldn’t stop looking at Catra. She was not sure how their first interaction would go but she was not expecting to be in any of her classes. She was having a whole mix of emotions.</p>
<p>She was still angry at Catra for cutting her off, yet those emotions started to feel irrelevant. She couldn’t explain this new-found attraction she felt. She felt wrong for having these feelings at all. She pushed the thought away and realized he had been staring at Catra for too long. She shakes her head and focuses back on Mrs. Rogers.</p>
<p>“Did I miss anyone’s name?” Mrs. Rogers asks to the class. No response.</p>
<p>“Okay great! So today, I want you to meet up with your new buddies and get to know each other a bit! Exchange cell phone numbers and schedules so you can check in with your buddies as the school year goes on. You may find your buddies now!” Mrs. Rogers says as students begin to speak and move about the classroom. </p>
<p>“What do I do?!” Glimmer asks in a hushed voice to Adora.</p>
<p>“How should I know? I haven’t talked to her in years!” Adora says back also in a hushed voice. </p>
<p>“Just go with the flow maybe? Don’t try to force anythi—” Bow starts to say but was interrupted by a raspy, familiar voice.</p>
<p>“Hey Adora,” Catra says in a sarcastic, playful tone.</p>
<p>The trio all look over to Catra who is standing there with a smug look on her face and her arms crossed. Of course, Adora immediately thought how hot she looked in that leather jacket but pushed the thought away immediately.</p>
<p>“Hi Catra,” Adora says in a shaky, small voice. “Welcome to Bright Moon,” she adds in.</p>
<p>“Yeah, thanks I guess. Super happy to be here,” Catra says with a chuckle. She faces Glimmer “Well I guess we’re buddies now. Let’s get this over with,” she says as she walks away expecting Glimmer to follow. Glimmer proceeds to stand up and follows the girl with a look of worry on her face as she waves by to her friends.</p>
<p>Entrapta makes her way over to Bow and Adora followed by Double Trouble. </p>
<p>“You must be Adora! I’ve heard a lot about you!” Entrapta says shaking her hand. </p>
<p>Adora blushes and cracks a small smile. “And you must be Entrapta, it’s nice to meet you!” Adora says.<br/>
“And I am your new buddy, Bow! I am so excited to be your buddy! Let’s get to know each other!” Bow says excitedly as he proceeds to stand up and bring Entrapta to a different part of the room. Adora looks over to Double Trouble who has a smile on their face.</p>
<p>“Hello darling! The name is Double Trouble and I take it your name is Adora, right?” They ask. </p>
<p>“Yes of course! The famous Double Trouble, it’s nice to put a face to a name,” Adora says shaking their hand as they both sit down together. </p>
<p>“So, I don’t mean to intrude, but I notice you had a little moment there with Catra Weaver. What’s that all about?” Double Trouble asks inquisitively. </p>
<p>Adora looks surprised. She shifts in her seat and crosses her arms. “I, uh…didn’t know you knew Catra,” she says quietly.</p>
<p>“Well I mean we went to the same school for three years so it was hard to miss her, especially with those adorable pointy ears!” Double Trouble says.</p>
<p>“Yeah I guess you’re right,” Adora says with a chuckle as she begins to bounce her leg.</p>
<p>“Well? Is there something between you two?” They ask again.</p>
<p>Adora doesn’t know how to answer that question. They used to be best friends and Adora thought she hated Catra. But she was confused about her feelings now. She was experiencing attraction towards her but she was still mad at her for leaving. She was not quite of sure what was going on.</p>
<p>“We used to be friends. Best friends, actually. Then when my mom died, she cut me off. She stopped being friends with me. And I’m not sure why…” Adora says with a lump in her throat. </p>
<p>“You miss her,” Double Trouble says nonchalantly. </p>
<p>Adora looks up at them. She didn’t know why but she knew that she could trust Double Trouble. They were being so nice and honest with her and she felt safe even though this is their first time having a conversation.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I do,” Adora says with a small grin. </p>
<p>“Look I know we don’t know each other well. But if you miss her, then what’s the harm in trying to mend the friendship? It seems like you both have some unspoken words that need to be said,” Double Trouble says.</p>
<p>“I know. But she won’t want to be friends with me. I bet she won’t even listen to me,” Adora says rolling her eyes.</p>
<p>“Trust me. If she didn’t have a similar feeling, she wouldn’t have said hi to you earlier,” Double Trouble says as they put their hand on Adora’s shoulder.</p>
<p>Adora looks up at them and smiles. After that, they exchange phone numbers and schedules. Adora then begins to tell Double Trouble all about the school. All the clubs, sports, and the best teachers here and the ones to avoid. The school bell rang and it was time to start the rest of the day.</p>
<p>After homeroom was over, Adora began to think that Bow was right. The Best Friends Squad was going to grow and she was happy to have someone else to rely on.</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>After the assembly, Catra and Entrapta got separated. There were so many students it was hard to keep track of each other. The bell rang and Catra had to make her way to homeroom to find out who her buddy is. </p>
<p>She wasn’t too thrilled about this buddy system. She could take care of herself, she didn’t need anyone to help her, especially at a new school. Of course, that would come to bite her in the ass because she somehow got lost. </p>
<p>The hallways started to and time was running out. She looked at her schedule again. Mrs. Rogers, Room 184. She kept walking down the hallways and looking at the room numbers. The bell rang again and the hallways were practically empty.</p>
<p>“Are you lost?” A familiar voice said behind her. Catra turned around and saw her new principal standing there with a concerned face.</p>
<p>“Hi Miss Netossa. I’m looking for Room 184,” Catra said.</p>
<p>“It’s just down this hallway, last door on the right,” Miss Netossa said with a small smile.</p>
<p>Catra looked at her and smiled back. “Thanks,” she said as she quickly rushed down the hallway.</p>
<p>Catra entered the classroom rather quickly and took the first seat she saw available. Mrs. Rogers had already began talking. </p>
<p>“You must be from Horde Academy. No worries! I know this is your first day and are still figuring out the school,” Mrs. Rogers says to Catra with a small smile. </p>
<p>Mrs. Rogers begins talking again and it’s about the new buddy system. Catra was not looking forward to being paired with someone she didn’t know. But she was going to suck it up and do it anyways. </p>
<p>“Adora…” Mrs. Rogers says.<br/>
Catra nearly jumps at the sound of her name. Her eyes go wide and her ears droop down. She quickly turns around to see if what she heard was true. And there she was. They quickly locked eyes but Catra turned around quickly. </p>
<p>She can’t believe Adora is in her homeroom. She realizes that Scorpia was right. Avoiding her was going to be impossible, especially since they are in homeroom together. What really surprised her was how much Adora had changed. She got glasses and looked really fit. Like she worked out. And Catra did not mind that one bit. She had not imagined what Adora looked like. It never even occurred to her. But now she cannot get her out of her mind. She even forgot for a brief moment that she was mad at her. And she didn’t mind that either. </p>
<p>She stopped herself from those thoughts and listened to her teacher. </p>
<p>“Glimmer, you are paired with Catra,” Mrs. Rogers says.</p>
<p>She looked over to Glimmer who looked just as horrified as she did. She looked back to the front of the classroom.</p>
<p>“Great,” Catra mumbled under her breath.</p>
<p>Out of all the people in this school, she had to get paired with the one person who took her best friend away. She thought of asking Mrs. Rogers to have her switch with someone but that might end up being Adora. That was the last thing she wanted.</p>
<p>After Mrs. Rogers gave the class instructions, Catra stood up and walked over to her new buddy. She was being civil for the time being but was not happy to be stuck with Glimmer. Just because they were paired together doesn’t mean Catra has to be happy about it.</p>
<p>Catra leads Glimmer to the back of the classroom, far away from Adora. They sit down on the floor with their backs against the wall.</p>
<p>“So…how do you like Bright Moon so far?” Glimmer asks awkwardly.</p>
<p>“Fine, I guess,” Catra says in a monotone voice.</p>
<p>Glimmer nods. They sit there for a few moments in silence before Glimmer speaks again. </p>
<p>“I know Adora is happy you’re here,” she says nudging her arm.</p>
<p>Catra looks at Glimmer with a frown. “How do you know that?” she demands.</p>
<p>“Because I know Adora. She will never admit this but I know she misses you. She even still has that stuffed cat you gave her all those years ago,” she says chuckling to herself. “Don’t tell her I told you that, she’d kill me.”</p>
<p>Catra gives a small nod and a laugh. “Melog? I’m surprised she kept it”<br/>
“I’m not,” Glimmer says with a small smile. The two girls share a small glance and then go back to silence. They exchange their numbers and schedules but as soon as the bell rings, Catra is the first one out the door.</p>
<p>As she made her way to her next class, Catra couldn’t stop thinking about Adora. She was wondering why she missed her so much. At the same time, she was incredibly hurt still after all these years. But the more she thought about their friendship, the less she felt hurt. And for the first time in a while, she felt there was a possibility of reconciling with her.   </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! I hope you're enjoying the story so far, I know I love writing it! See ya soon :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. September pt. 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi all! Sorry this chapter took longer to put out, I'm trying to keep up with a schedule so bare with me! Enjoy :) </p><p>All spelling, grammar and format errors are my own.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>It was a cloudy and windy day. Hundreds of people dressed in black and uniformed members from the fire department all walk in the cemetery as they follow a casket. In front of the procession, eleven-year-old Adora, Glimmer and Bow are holding hands closely followed behind Angella while Micah, George and Lance help carry the casket. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Everyone gathers around as the casket is laid above the hole in the ground. Red, white, and blue flowers in various bouquets surround the mourners along with a picture of Mara in her uniform displayed on an easel. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Angella, Glimmer and Adora all take seats as the rest of Mara’s loved ones stand in silence. Micah steps up and begins to address the crowd.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Good morning everyone, thank you all for being here today,” Micah says in a serious voice. “Mara was not a religious person. She believed in something else so strong it cost her own life…” Micah continued. “Love. Love for her friends, love for her daughter Adora, and love for her community,” he says with a brief pause. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“She sacrificed herself to save dozens of people. She knew the risk of this job but she loved it fiercely. And that’s the kind of person Mara was. She was brave, kind, strong, funny, and a fierce friend…” he says getting choked up. He clears his throat and continues.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I knew Mara a long time. We had training together and she always had my back. When we graduated, we were placed at the same station. Ever since then, our families became one. And I will be forever grateful to have had the chance to have such a wonderful friend,” Micah says with tears rolling down his face. He takes out a handkerchief and wipes his tears away. He continues to speak.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Mara was taken from this world too quickly. But let us remember the memories she gave us all and remember that she is never truly gone. She will always be with us, no matter where life takes us,” Micah says as he looks to Adora as if he was saying that directly to her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>At this point, there was not a dry eye in the crowd. There were a lot of tissues and handkerchiefs passed around as the mourners listened to Micah. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I again want to thank everyone for being here today. I know it means a lot to me and my family. At this time, if anyone would like to come up and say anything about Mara, you are encouraged to do so,” Micah says. He then walks over to Angella, Glimmer and Adora and takes a seat next to Adora. He wraps his arm around her and Adora immediately embraces his arm and begins crying into his side.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Meanwhile, person after person stood up and had something wonderful to say about Mara. Most were fellow fire fighters. They shared their funny stories, times when Mara helped them with a personal matter, and other times she had been kind to others. No one had a bad thing to say about her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>After what felt like hours, the last person to speak walks away and people started leaving. Only Adora, Micah, Angella, Glimmer, Bow and his dads remain at the casket.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Just as they were about to leave, Catra shows up. She is wearing an all-black suit with a bow tie hanging around her neck, untied of course. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Adora looks shocked as Catra walks over with her head down and hands in her pockets. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“We’ll give you two some privacy,” Angella says to Adora. The rest of the group walks away, leaving the two young girls alone.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Once Catra was there, Adora immediately embraces her in a hug. Catra is surprised at the gesture and returns the hug. They stay like that for what seems like hours but was actually seconds.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"</em>
  <em>I’m so happy you’re here,” Adora says as she breaks the hug with tears flowing down her face. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I wanted to say goodbye. I never got the chance to when she was, you know…” Catra says in a soft, shaky voice. Adora nodded her head in understanding. There are a few moments of silence before Catra speaks again.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I’m so sorry. I know you were close. I mean she was practically my mom too…” Catra says as she begins to cry. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I’m sorry too. I know she loved you just as much as me. Possibly more,” Adora says with a small chuckle and a grin. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Catra laughed a bit too as she was wiping her tears away. The two look at each other for a brief moment.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Here. I want you to have this,” Catra says as she hands Adora a stuffed animal.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Catra, I can’t accept this. You love Melog,” Adora says holding Melog in front of her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I know. But you need him more. He’s helped me though a lot of tough times. And I know he can help you through this,” Catra says with a small grin.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Adora looks down at the stuffed cat. Her eyes fill with tears and she looks back to Catra. “Thank you.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Catra nods in response and turns around to walk away. As she’s walking, she turns around and looks back at her friend.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Goodbye, Adora,” Catra says with tears in her eyes. She continues walking, never looking back.</em>
</p><p>Catra wakes up to the sound of her alarm going off. She reaches over and picks up her phone and turns it off. She rolls back in bed and stares at the ceiling. Seeing Adora around school the past three weeks brought up a lot of memories. But Mara’s funeral was the most painful. Not only did she lose her best friend, she lost a mother as well. She missed her so much. She missed Adora as well. She just wasn’t ready to forgive Adora yet. They had barely spoken to each other since that first day in homeroom. And she didn’t know if they were going to get further than that.</p><p>Catra sat up in bed and looked over to her closet. She sees the Adora box and sighs. She gets out of bed and brings the box down. She picks up the picture of herself, Adora and Mara at the piano. Catra grins and places the frame on her beside table.</p><p>…</p><p>Catra arrives at homeroom with Entrapta. Once there, she sees The Best Friends Squad along with a few other people she knew of but never talked to before. Except Double trouble, everyone knew who they were. They’re all talking and laughing with each other. Entrapta makes her way right to Bow and they immediately begin talking, probably about tech stuff. Catra is reluctant at first but eventually makes her way over to the group.</p><p>“Hey Catra! Come and join us,” Glimmer says as Catra approaches the group. “I don’t think you’ve met everyone here! This is Sea Hawk and his girlfriend, Mermista,” Glimmer says as she gestures towards the couple.</p><p>“It is an absolute pleasure to finally meet you, Catra!” Sea Hawk says in a big, cheery voice.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s cool. Nice ears.” Mermista says while holding out a fist bump.</p><p>Catra looks at the fist and grins, returning the gesture. “Thanks,” Catra says.</p><p>“And this is—”</p><p>“Perfuma,” Catra says cutting Glimmer off. “We haven’t officially met yet but Scorpia talks about you all the time,” Catra says looking at the blond-haired girl.</p><p>“And it is so nice to put a face to the name!” Perfuma says as she walks up to Catra and embraces her in a hug.</p><p>Catra is shocked at the gesture and doesn’t know how to react. She awkwardly returns the hug for a moment before separating.</p><p>“Nice to meet you too,” Catra says with a small smile.</p><p>“And I think you know the rest of the group!” Glimmer says with a big smile.</p><p>Catra gives a wave to Double Trouble. Bow and Entrapta were too busy with their conversation to pay attention. Then Catra looks at Adora. They wave at each other and give a small nod.</p><p>“Yes, hello kitten! We were all just talking about the talent show I am putting together at the end of the year. It is going to be nothing but fabulous! Double Trouble says with excitement. “I hope you all sign up, you have until the end of the semester to do so. Start thinking about it now and come talk to yours truly if you wish to be a part of the show!”</p><p>“I am so excited! My act will be magical!” Glimmer says with a smug look on her face and wiggling her eyebrows.</p><p>“You’re going to do you card and magic tricks aren’t you?” Adora asks with a sarcastic tone.</p><p>Glimmer squints her eyes and glares at Adora. “You’ll just have to wait and see!”</p><p>Everyone laughs except Catra, who just forces a small grin across her face.</p><p>“You should play the piano. You’re really talented,” Adora says looking at Catra.</p><p>Everyone hears this and looks over to Catra who looks like a deer in headlights. Her ears droop and she avoids eye contact with everyone. She scratches the back of her head and is speechless.</p><p>She has no idea what to say. She hasn’t played piano since Mara died, who was her teacher. That was Catra and Mara’s thing. Catra became interested in piano when she heard Mara playing one day and she took to it really fast. They would have a lesson at least once a week. Sometimes more. And Catra loved it. But when Mara died, she gave up playing. It felt wrong to take lessons from anyone else and it hurt too much to play. So, she quit.</p><p>Catra clears her throat. “I uhh…I don’t really—”</p><p>The sound of the bell cut her off. Catra took that as a sign and excused herself to her seat. The rest of the group was a little confused but they followed suit and went to their seats as well.</p><p>Mrs. Rogers walks in. “Good morning class! Today, I want you to meet with your buddies and do a check-up with them. Get to it!” She proceeds to sit at her desk and open her computer.</p><p>The rest of the class starts to talk and move about the room. Catra looks over to Glimmer who is already walking towards her. She takes a seat next to her.</p><p>“Hey buddy!” Glimmer says calmly.</p><p>“Hey,” Catra responds shortly.</p><p>“So, what was that all about?” Glimmer asks.</p><p>Catra looks at her and doesn’t reply right away. She looks away and down at her desk where she was fiddling with her hands.</p><p>“It’s nothing,” Catra finally says.</p><p>“Does it have anything to do with Mara?”</p><p>Catra looks over to Glimmer. Of course, Glimmer knew Mara played the piano. She was around when Mara was alive and music was a big part of her life. Whenever Mara had company over, she would play music of some kind. Whether it was from her record player blasting 80’s classics or her playing Beethoven on the piano. Mara made sure music was in everyone’s lives. And they all loved it.</p><p>After a few moments and hesitation, Catra breaks the silence.</p><p>“She taught me piano. We would have lessons every week and it became our thing. She would even sign me up for recitals,” Catra says with a small grin.</p><p>“That sounds like Mara,” Glimmer says in return.</p><p>Catra sits up in her seat and crosses her arms. “It doesn’t matter, she’s gone and I don’t play anymore. Can we not talk about this anymore?” She says in an annoyed voice.</p><p>“Of course,” Glimmer says. There is a moment of awkward silence. “Wanna see a magic trick?”</p><p>…</p><p>Adora is heading to her favorite class: gym. She loves learning in her other classes but she loved being active. She hated sitting still and doing nothing. Working out and playing softball are her thing. With her being a senior this year, she was able to sign up to be a senior leader. They were in charge of leading the rest of the gym class in the group activities and helped out the teacher with whatever they needed. She was excited for class but she was distracted.</p><p>She felt bad about what happened in homeroom earlier that morning. She didn’t mean to put Catra on the spot like that and she felt really bad about it. Especially since she figured out she quit playing piano based on her response. She should’ve known that Catra quit piano. Of course she had. It was a beloved past time for her mother and Catra. And when she died, it was probably hard for Catra to continue playing. Adora wished she could take what she said back.</p><p>Adora is the first girl in the locker room so she changes into her uniform and heads into the gym and waits for the teachers and leaders to show up. Shortly after, Perfuma shows up with a senior leader uniform on.</p><p>“Adora! It is lovely to see you as always!” Perfuma says approaching Adora.</p><p>“Hey Perfuma! It’s lovely to see <em>you</em> as well!” Adora says back.</p><p>“Did you hear we are getting another class added to ours? Mr. O’Connell had a heart attack and is out for the rest of the year. So, we get his class now,” Perfuma says.</p><p>“Oh wow, I didn’t know that. Do we know anyone in that class?” Adora asks.</p><p>“I’m not sure, but we’ll find out soon enough!” Perfuma says excitedly.</p><p>Eventually, the gym is filled with a few dozen students, a handful of leaders, and the gym teachers Mr. Hayes and Mrs. Flynn. The bell rings and the remaining students trickle in from the locker rooms. Everyone is standing in the middle of the gym with the leaders and teachers facing the rest of the students.</p><p>“Good morning students! I know we have a bit more of us in here than usual but we will make it work. So, with that being said, we will be doing team bonding exercises today!” Mrs. Flynn announces to the group. There is a series of groans from the students. Mrs. Flynn continues talking but Adora notices something.</p><p>She sees a familiar pair of cat ears amongst the crowd. She moves to see if her theory was right and sure enough there she was with her pair of different colored eyes. They made eye contact but this time neither broke away from each other’s stare. Adora smiled at her but Catra gave back a half ass smile before quickly looking away.</p><p>This will be an interesting class.</p><p>…</p><p>The class was separated into groups with two leaders per group. Perfuma and Adora were put in charge of Catra’s group, of course. There were various stations across the gym floor and for this particular activity, the team has to stand on a single piece of wood and the students had to place themselves in a specific order. They had to do so without falling off the wood. If they did, they would have to start over.</p><p>“Okay everyone! Get up on the log and put yourselves from oldest to youngest. Remember, if anyone falls off, you have to start over!” Adora announces to the group.</p><p>The students begin communicating and shuffling around the log, figuring out everyone’s age and birthday months. As they were all moving around, Adora found herself staring at Catra. She thought about how cute she looked in her high-top converse and gym uniform. She matured and aged very well and couldn’t help how attracted she was to her former best friend. Of course, she would never admit it out loud, yet alone to herself.</p><p>“You’re all doing great! Keep up the good work!” Perfuma cheered on the students.</p><p>Adora snapped her attention back to the task at hand. “Yes, good job! Keep going everyone,” she added on.</p><p>Catra looks over to Adora and rolls her eyes. Adora looks confused but just brushes it off. Eventually the students were all put in the correct order on the log.</p><p>“Okay now let’s do tallest to shortest! Tall people go to the right and short people on the left!” Adora tells the group as her eyes land on Catra, who looks irritated.</p><p>“Is there an issue Catra?” Adora asks in an annoyed voice.</p><p>“Yeah, this whole exercise is stupid,” Catra says dryly crossing her arms.</p><p>The rest of the students giggle and let out of series of “oohs.” Adora and Perfuma look at each other and then back to Catra.</p><p>“If you do not participate, you do not receive credit for today’s class,” Adora says.</p><p>Catra uncrosses her arms and is silent for a moment. “Fine,” she says eventually.</p><p>The students then proceed to continue the exercise. Eventually, they move onto the rest of the stations and Catra is silent for the rest of class.</p><p>…</p><p>Adora enters the locker room with the rest of the class. She goes to her locker and changes into her softball practice clothes since she has practice right after school and gym was her last class of the day. While she was changing, she heard Catra’s voice a couple of rows over from her. She was talking to Perfuma. Adora grabs her bag and heads towards Catra and Perfuma when the bell rings.</p><p>“Thanks Catra, I’ll tell Scorpia you said hi!” Perfuma says walking away from Catra who was in the middle of changing her clothes. “Oh, hi Adora! I’ll see you on the practice field” Perfuma says as Adora walks past her and right to Catra’s locker.</p><p>Catra shuts her locker and is standing face to face with Adora now.</p><p>“Hey Adora,” Catra says sarcastically.</p><p>“What’s your problem? You embarrassed me in class today!” Adora demands.</p><p>“Jeez, hello to you too. It seems you’re the one who has the problem,” Catra responds with a smirk.</p><p>Adora sighs in frustration. “I’m serious, is this because of what happened in homeroom this morning?” Catra’s smirk goes away as she grabs her backpack and shuts her locker.</p><p>“Maybe it is. Why do you care?” Catra asks</p><p>Adora pauses before she speaks. “If I had known you quit playing, I wouldn’t have said anything. I’m sorry for putting you on the spot,” Adora says sincerely.</p><p>Catra is shocked. She doesn’t know what to say. She clears her throat. “Thanks, I guess. I’ll do my best to not embarrass you in front other people. Maybe,” she says with a small grin.</p><p>“Thank you,” Adora replies with chuckle. There is an awkward silence. “Well, I gotta get to practice. See ya around, Catra,” she says walking away.</p><p>“See ya later, Adora,” Catra responds walking the opposite direction.</p><p>For the first time in years, both of them felt that there was hope to rekindle their friendship.   </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! I plan on adding more Catradora moments in the next chapter so don't worry, more sappy lesbian content is on the way! New chapter will be posted soon (hopefully)! Let me know what you think! :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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